Knights use the long ball to throttle RailRiders in second-half opener

Charlotte’s brand new BB&T Ballpark has built a reputation as a haven for home runs this season.

The RailRiders started the second half of the season by learning that the hard way.

Continuing their recent battering of the RailRiders pitching staff, more than half of the Knights in the starting lineup ripped home runs, and the RailRiders couldn’t overcome the early onslaught in what turned into a 9-5 loss on Thursday night.

Making just his second start in Triple-A, right-hander Bryan Mitchell’s night looked almost nightmarish at times. In three straight innings — the second through the fourth — Charlotte batters tagged

him for leadoff homers. Jordan Danks got him in the second, and Marcus Semien arched a Mitchell pitch over the left field wall to start the third.

In the fourth, Andy Wilkins lined his 17th homer of the season over the wall

in right to start things

off, giving the Knights a 4-0 edge.

Kyle Roller got the RailRiders on the board in the fifth with a homer, but while Mitchell’s streak of allowing leadoff homers ended in the bottom of the inning, it certainly didn’t end by much. Nor did it end better.

He walked Semien to avoid the leadoff homer, but All-Star catcher Josh Phegley ripped a 2-0 pitch over the wall in center, ending Mitchell’s night.

It didn’t, however, end the home run carnage.

The Knights waited three hitters into reliever Danny Burawa’s outing before hitting another homer, when Wilkins hit his second homer of the night to hand Charlotte an 8-1 lead, sending the Knights well on their way to their fourth win in five games this season against the RailRiders.

Six homers proved to be too much for even the potent RailRiders offense to overcome.

After Roller’s homer, the RailRiders’ best chance to make the game close came in the sixth, when they scored four times against Johnson.

The inning was keyed by Adonis Garcia’s two-run single, but Austin Romine grounded into a double play to end the inning, and the RailRiders never threatened enough again to withstand the home run derby.

Contact the writer:

sports@timesshamrock.com

@RailRidersTT on Twitter

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